A HISTORIC referendum to recognise indigenous Australians in the
constitution will be put within 18 months if the Coalition is
re-elected, Prime Minister John Howard pledged last night.

In a dramatic gesture to indigenous Australia before the federal
election, Mr Howard did a partial mea culpa, admitting he had
failed to deliver his undertaking for reconciliation and promising
a fresh start.

Speaking last night to the Sydney Institute, he indicated he now
accepted that the symbolic side of reconciliation  which he
previously rejected  was important, along with the practical
side of reconciliation.

But he is still refusing to make an apology to Aborigines,
saying the approach must be acceptable to "traditional" Australia
 "people who think this country has basically done the right
thing".

In a highly personal and extraordinary admission, Mr Howard said
his journey to this point " has not been without sidetracks and dry
gullies".

And he laid part of the blame for his failures on the era in
which he was born, saying: "The challenge I have faced around
indigenous identity politics is in part an artefact of who I am and
the time in which I grew up."

Outlining his plans for the referendum, he said it would seek to
formally recognise indigenous Australians in the preamble to the
constitution  "their history as the first inhabitants of the
country, their unique heritage of culture and languages and their
special, though not separate, place within a reconciled,
indivisible nation".

He said the statement would "reflect my profound sentiment that
indigenous Australians should enjoy the full bounty that this
country has to offer".

Last night Labor said it would support a referendum whether it
won government or not. Opposition Leader Kevin Rudd and indigenous
affairs spokeswoman Jenny Macklin said it had long been Labor
policy to recognise indigenous Australians in the constitution.

"A referendum will succeed if it has strong public support, and
bipartisan leadership, and in the spirit of the 1967 referendum,
federal Labor offers this support," they said.

Reaction from Aboriginal leaders was mixed. Marcia Langton, the
foundation professor of Australian Indigenous studies at the
University of Melbourne, welcomed Mr Howard's watershed.

"I commend him for his fresh approach, but, most particularly,
for his willingness to engage with the propositions put to him
through minister Mal Brough by Galarrwuy Yunupingu and Noel
Pearson," she told The Age.

But former Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander chairwoman
Lowitja O'Donoghue was sceptical. "He wants to keep breaking our
hearts," she said. "He has had 11 years and he has failed us."

National Indigenous Council member Wesley Aird was wary, but
said constitutional recognition would help to bolster indigenous
pride. "I hope he doesn't set us up so we are going to be attacked
by all sorts of ultraconservatives, but good on him."

Chief executive Barbara Livesey said: "Many people have been
calling for this for a long time." But she said the change would
need to work in tandem with a long-term plan to address indigenous
disadvantage.

Indigenous activist and former ALP president Warren Mundine
said: "I congratulate him for putting this up, but I'm sceptical
about the timing  on the brink of an election."

Former Liberal prime minister Malcolm Fraser said whatever Mr
Howard did now was elect- ion driven, because he was desperate. He
said a refer- endum would not do anything unless it was accompanied
by a 20-year commitment on health, education and housing.

Greens leader Bob Brown was also scathing about Mr Howard's
change of heart. "This is more about saving John Howard than about
reversing the last 10 years," he said.

Mr Howard said he was "the first to admit that this whole area
is one I have struggled with during the entire time that I have
been Prime Minister.

"There have been low points when dialogue between me as Prime
Minister and many indigenous leaders dwindled almost to the point
of non-existence. I fully accept my share of the blame for
that."

While laying some blame on his background, he strongly defended
the conservative view. "The challenge I have faced around
indigenous identity politics is in part an artefact of who I am and
the time in which I grew up," he said.

On the night of the 1998 election, he had committed himself to
trying to achieve reconciliation by 2001. "I recognise now that,
though emotionally committed to the goal, I was mistaken in
believing that it could be achieved in a form I truly believed in,"
he said.

"I have always acknowledged the past mistreatment of Aboriginal
people and have frequently said that the treatment of indigenous
Australians represents the most blemished chapter in the history of
this country.

"Yet I have felt  and I still feel  that the
overwhelming balance sheet of Australian history is a positive
one."

He said there was a stage when he had not thought the symbolic
part of reconciliation mattered at all. "I thought the only thing
that mattered was the practical side of reconciliation.

"But the symbolic part of it has to occur and be expressed in a
way that is acceptable to traditional Australia."

Mr Howard said Australians "want to move towards a new
settlement of this issue. I share that desire," he said. "I sense
in the community a rare and unexpected convergence of opinion on
this issue between the more conservative approach which I clearly
identify with and those who traditionally have favoured more of a
group rights approach."

Mr Howard said he still believed that "a collective national
apology for past injustice fails to provide the necessary basis to
move forward".

Much time had been wasted toying with the idea of a treaty
implying two separate nations. "We are not a federation of tribes.
We are one great tribe; one Australia," Mr Howard said.

He said the referendum would be "a dignified and respectful"
process. "Some will no doubt want to portray my remarks tonight as
a form of Damascus Road conversion. In reality, they are little
more than an affirmation of well-worn liberal conservative ideas,"
he said. "Their roots lie in a Burkean respect for custom and
cultural tradition and the hidden chain of obligations that binds a
community."

"It's about recognising that while ever our indigenous citizens
are left out or marginalised or feel their identity is challenged
we are all diminished. I am a realist. True reconciliation will
become a reality only when it delivers better lives for Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander people. That, quite frankly, will be the
work of generations".

470306Brendan Espositohttp://media.theage.com.au/?rid=32368<b>Video</b> PM's speech highlightsvideo/standardhttp://www.theage.com.au/news/national/listening-at-last-to-the-disadvantaged/2007/10/11/1191696082658.htmlListening, at last, to the disadvantagedtext/html-documenthttp://www.theage.com.au/news/national/a-shared-destiny/2007/10/11/1191696082661.htmlA shared destinytext/html-documenthttp://www.theage.com.au/news/national/finally-after-a-lost-decade-cause-for-optimism/2007/10/11/1191696082585.htmlFinally, after a lost decade, cause for optimismtext/html-documenthttp://www.theage.com.au/news/general/bpms-speechb/2007/10/11/1191696077007.html<b>PM's speech</b>text/html-externalhttp://blogs.theage.com.au/yoursay/archives/2007/10/heads_are_turni.html<strong>Your say</strong>text/html-internal